It's been a long time coming, but the new version of Chess.com is finally ready to take online chess to a new level—and take your game to new heights. This new version (v3) has been our top priority for two years, and&...
Mt. Whitney, the hightest peak in the contiguous United States Nestled within the Sierra Nevada Mountains at the base of the highest peak in the lower 48 states, the high desert community of Lone Pine became the unl...
GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are doubtlessly deep in preparation for their upcoming Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship semifinal match on August 24 at 10 a.m. PST. They are surely doing countless ...
Many naturally talented chess players effortlessly envision mating patterns, applying them or threatening their application with amazing ease. Other, less talented players such as myself, must keep hammering t...
Boris Gelfand’s musings in a recent interview on the benefits of children playing chess for its own sake - “Only a fraction will play professionally, but the rest will acquire the skill of strategic planning and the habit of thinking, ...
In 1945, right after WWII ended, a team of United States players competed against a team of Soviet players in a chess match via radio. While the U.S. team expected stiff competition, there was little doubt in...
On the free day at the Jermuk Women's Grand Prix tournament way back in 2010, I had a pleasant opportunity to chat with the hosts. My conversation with the chief organizer and famous GM Smbat Lputian inevitably touched on the r...
As in attics where things once used get stored out of sight and mind, old articles have a way of burying themselves under the weight of those that follow becoming lost and forgotten. Sometimes it pays to put on an apron and gloves, wal...
The Chess.com member jyuvaraj asks: "I’m a beginner. I wish to improve my game. I’m currently reading the step-by-step method by Rob Brunia and Cor van Wijgerden. Will that help? What else should I do to improve? I’m also ...
Last week, we discussed the trickiest knight moves. Today, we'll choose the most amazing bishop move ever! I want to thank all the readers who contribute to our search for the ultimate chess beauty. While it is difficult to choose which b...
Convergences: Miles of String by Marcel Duchampfrom the "First Papers of Surrealism" exhibition New York 1942, for the benefit of the French war relief societiesPhoto by John Schiff hangs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Untitled scul...
The Chess.com member te_amo (from Kolkata, India) asked me to point out his weakness in his games. He said: “I undergo no sort of professional training, and I aspire to be over 2000 someday.” Mr. te_amo, the fact is that people start...
First of all I would like to thank our readers for their contribution to last week's article. Many of you shared your chess knowledge and helped to uncover some little-known games with really stunning moves. Since in that article&nb...
The Chess.com member rosyflamitto said: “I usually blunder a lot, mainly in middlegames. Will you please look at few my games and give me some advice?” Jeremy Silman: Before continuing, a word to those reading this article: I am ge...
Mrs. Morphy is renowned in the salons of New Orleans as a brilliant pianiste and musician; and her son, without ever having studied music, has a similar aptitude for it, and he believes he would have become as famous therein as in chess, had he ...
The death of GM Viktor Korchnoi is a huge loss for chess. I am not going to repeat the obvious facts that he was the strongest chess player who never became the world champion or tell you about his enormous chess heritage. There are thousands...
The Chess.com member JerryPapada wrote: “My name is Jerry, I’m 15 years old, from Greece, and I’m trying to find a way to bump up my rating. I need to find what is missing from my games.” Jeremy Silman: Playing 3-0 games ...
We continue our discussion about the funniest, craziest moves ever played and today it is the rook's turn. While it is difficult for me to choose the funniest rook move ever played, I know for sure what was the funniest rook move that ...
The Chess.com member QueensConquerer wrote: “I just read your article on opening preparation and in it you said that the player shouldn’t be afraid of getting doubled pawns. But there are times when I’m watching YouTube...
The Blitz Battle Qualifier to decide who will face Magnus Carlsen is here. Watch the event with live commentary at Chess.com/tv or Twitch.tv/chess. Round one of this 11-round, 3 0 Swiss tournament starts Tuesday, M...
In one of my recent articles, I mentioned a funny story where an illegal king move was played, which made me wonder: what are the craziest king moves in the history of chess? So here I am presenting the games where such moves were made. In order...
Rivalaries are often born through circumstances that extend beyond the game. An intense, winner-take-all game, a misplayed Smith-Mora, a Twitter battle, or even a swift kick to your shin under the table — All might be enough to point yo...
The Chess.com member Olaspecial wrote: “I am keen to become Nigeria’s next titled player (I hope this makes you smile) and I believe you can help me get there. I am diligent and I have been working hard at developing my opening repe...
At the end of last week's article I mentioned that "recently we witnessed a real outbreak of touch-move rule violations." I think we can explain this phenomenon by a huge advance in modern technology and particularly devices...
